Where Will Rose Go?
by mynameisicy
Summary: No one could stop wondering what would happen to Gina Bryant. Tag to Criminal Minds season 11, episode 14 - Hostage. Warning: Possible graphic child abuse in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! It has been many years since I last wrote anything by myself. When I watched Hostage (Season 11, episode 14) of Criminal Minds, I could not stop thinking "What happened to Gina?"

I decided to try my hand at writing a new story. Please, if there is any interest whatsoever in this story, let me know. I plan to continue it, but I'll only upload it if there's interest.

Please let me know what was good, what was not so good, and where I need to improve. ANY and ALL suggestions/comments/reviews are welcome.

Thank you, and love,

\- Icy

"What's... where will Rose go?" Amelia stroked Lily's hair, looking up at her parents.

Maureen, who was sitting right beside her daughter on her bed, responded instantly, touching her daughter's hand lightly, "Her name is Gina. Gina Bryant." She smiled – something she hadn't genuinely done in many years.

George chimed in, with the same genuine smile on his face."I'm sure that Gina's family will be so very happy to see her once they get here, sweetie."

"She always said that she didn't have any family. I always... I always told her that Daddy and me and Daisy were her family. But she didn't listen..." She looked down at the sleeping little girl on her lap and frowned, quietly whispering, "She never listened." She looked at both of the little girls. They were both soundly asleep. They looked so peaceful. They always did. Lily and Jasmine were very peaceful little girls. They never raised their voices and they were quiet as mice. Not like Rose. Rose was too loud. Rose was never happy. Lily and Jasmine were always happy.

George cringed when he saw his little girl call her abductor and rapist 'daddy'. _He_ was Amelia's daddy. He was _Melly's_ daddy. He looked at his little girl on her hospital bed. He looked at his two little granddaughters. He wanted nothing more than to bash in the face of the pig who violated his Melly.

When Amelia said that Gina didn't have a family, Maureen felt her heart drop. "I'm... I'm going to grab a pop. Does anybody want one? Sweetie. Amelia, honey, do you want one? Or would Jasmine or Lily want a pop? For when they wake up?" Maureen's voice rambled quickly.

Hearing his wife babble so nervously, George gave a small chuckle. "Honey, calm down. They're not going anywhere." His voice was firm. He would not let them go anywhere. He would not let anyone hurt his daughter or his granddaughters again.

Amelia thought briefly. "They've... they've never had a pop before." Daddy had only ever given them water and sandwiches. Mostly ham and cheese, but every once in a while, if he was happy, he'd give them peanut butter and jelly. But that had been the extent of it. Some times, Amelia thought that she and Rose and Daisy had it better than Lily and Jasmine. They were lucky. Daddy paid attention to them... But he never paid attention to Lily and Jasmine. He didn't ever give them nice things, like pizza and cakes.

In response, Maureen smiled. "I-I'll get them a pop, then. Do you... do you want a pop, Amelia?"

"Um. N-no thank you." Her answer was short. In truth, she really did want a pop. She really, really wanted a pop. But she knew better than to ask for things. She smiled, but not at Maureen. She smiled at Lily and Jasmine.

Quietly, Maureen rose from the bed and left. She made sure to be quiet, so she wouldn't wake the little girls. "Um..." She raised her hand slightly, like a child in a classroom, in order to get attention. "Excuse me..." She said to the nearest person she could find, "Do you know... do you know where the FBI officers are? I-I know they were here, earlier."

The woman was sitting on a small bench outside of one of the rooms. She looked slightly unkempt. Her head was down, and her knotted hair covered her face. When she looked up, she pushed the hair from her face, and she gave a small smile. "They're outside. They just... they took Sheila's mom away."

"Sheila?" Maureen gave a puzzled look. "Isn't... isn't Sheila one of the girls that Amelia was kept with? Wait, how... how do you know about Sheila?"

She laughed, amused by the fact that Mrs. Hawthorne had no idea what really happened. "Y-you're Voilet's mom."

Instinctively, Maureen snapped. "Her name is Amelia!" Yet, as quickly as her rage came over her, it slipped away. "Oh, my God. Gina." She dropped to her knees instantly. "I'm so sorry, Gina." She reached out, placing her hand on Gina's knee.

Gina flinched, but didn't shy away. "It-it's okay..." She smiled and placed her hand atop Mrs. Hawthorne's.

"Gina..." She did not know what to say. "Gina..."

"Mrs. Hawthorne, you... you need to get back to... to Amelia." She had a hard time remembering Violet's real name. As often as she had yelled at Amelia for calling her 'Rose', she should have had an easier time remembering her friend's true name.

"Gina, where are you going to go?" She blurted out the words just as quickly as possible. Her mouth worked too quickly for her brain. After she inhaled deeply, she said, slowly, "Amelia said that you... that you didn't have a family. Is that true?"

Gina blinked, taken aback by Mrs. Hawthorne's words. "I... I... uh." She stammered, unsure of how to respond, "The-the people... the FBI people. They said that... they said that they would help me... find some housing... with counselors. Who could help me... they could help me learn more. Help me find a... a nice job."

Maureen looked at the little girl sitting on the bench. She was eighteen years old, but she was still a little girl. "Gina," She didn't give a second thought before she continued, "Would you like to come live with us? You... you're the reason that we have Amelia back." She paused. "Those FBI agents said that... they said that you were the one who escaped."

"Amelia got real mad at me." She gave a small, sad smile. "Amelia was always a good girl. Me and Sheila weren't so good. Sheila was better. They were special."

"Gina, sweetie, you are special, too." Maureen wasn't sure what else to say, but she did truly mean it. All of the girls were special. They had survived.

She scoffed. "I'm so special that my dad left three days after I was born, and my mom did drugs to forget. I don't remember, but I was six months old when they found me next to her. She'd been dead for two days before they found me."

"Oh, God, honey..." She squeezed Gina's hand, trying to offer some form of comfort.

Gina shrugged, not wanting to stew on the past. "Honestly, as bad as it was with Tom, part of me still thinks that it would... that I was better off with him. At least he wanted me. I... all the foster parents that I had gone through didn't want me. I was so young when I went in to foster care. I was a cute, blonde little baby. Don't people always want the cute little blonde babies?" She felt tears in her eyes. "Nobody wanted me. Tom... he wanted me."

Maureen shook her head. She had so much she wanted to say, but she knew that it wasn't the right time. "Gina, look at me. Look at my eyes."

Gina tried, but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to look up. She stopped making eye contact with adults a long, long time ago. She could make eye contact with Sheila and Amelia, but not with adults. The foster parents got mad and said she was defiant. Tom got mad and said she was a bad girl.

"Gina, sweetheart, we want you. I want you. You saved my little girl. You saved four lives, Gina. You saved other little girls from getting taken. You saved other families from year and years of heartache. You are a hero, Gina. Please, think about coming with us. In a few days, once the police let us... we're going to go back to Indianapolis. We want you to come with us."

She started to breathe heavily. "I-I... I need my dog." She wrung her hands nervously. "I need... I need my-my dog. Please, I-I need my dog. I can't go without-I can't go without my dog."

Maureen wrinkled her brow. The police hadn't said anything about a dog. "He... he let you have a dog? You got to keep a dog?"

"No, he gave me... I was really, really good for a while and he gave me a dog and I need him back. He tried to take him away when I was bad again, but I hid him. I can't go anywhere without him! I let Sheila have him when... when I left, but I need my dog back!"

"I'll go find the agents and I'll ask them, okay? If... Gina, if we get you that dog back, will you come with us?"

Gina rocked back and forth, trying to calm herself down. "I-I need my dog. I need my dog."

Maureen held her hand out, hoping and praying that Gina would take it. "Come on, let's go ask. Okay? We'll go ask about getting your dog back."

Gina kept her head down, but took Maureen's hand. It seemed to take an eternity to get to the destination. The halls seemed like tunnels to Gina. Never ending, repetitive tunnels. She hadn't been outside in so long, and she was still adjusting to having so much to look at. She had memorized every single thing in their room. Even behind the curtain. She memorized it all. Over and over, to calm herself as they walked, Gina kept muttering to herself. "I need my dog. I need my dog. I have to have my dog."

As they walked, Maureen wondered what she'd done. What had she gotten herself in to? What had she gotten her family in to? Why did she do this? Why had she let Amelia get taken? Why had all of this happened?

They stepped outside and, just as Gina had said, the FBI agents were there, packing up their things and getting ready to head out in their large black SUVs. "Excuse me," Maureen called, barely loud enough to be heard. "Excuse me, can you... do you have a minute?"

It was Agent Hotchner that responded first. "Mrs. Hawthorne," He cocked his head to the side, looking at the girl who was standing with her. "Is everything okay?"

Agent Reid chimed in as well, but he addressed Gina directly. "Gina, are you all right?" He crouched down slightly to get a look at her face.

"I-I need my dog. Can I have my dog? Please?" She kept her eyes to the ground. She looked at her shoes. She hadn't had shoes in a long time, and the hospital gave her some shoes. They were plain sneakers, and they had elastic instead of regular laces. She liked that, because she never learned to tie her shoes. She used to tuck her laces in to her shoes for school, because the foster parents wouldn't ever get her velcro shoes. They didn't bother to teach her to tie them, either.

"You have a dog, Gina? Where is your dog? We'll help you get it." He got down on one knee, still hoping that the girl would look at him. She did, on the first day she was in the hospital. After that day, though, she had refused to make eye contact with anyone. The doctors said that, even despite everything she'd been through, she was extremely mature. She was not well socialized, but extremely mature. They retracted that statement rather quickly.

"He's at the house. He's at Tom's house. I need to get him back. Please, I need my dog." At that moment, she met Agent Reid's eyes and whispered, "Please. I need my dog."


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! I hope this is okay... I have no idea what the process would be in order to get something back from a crime scene (I did hours of research on it and it's impossible to find!). So I made up some stuff.

Please, again, review! :D I want to know what needs improvement and what worked well. :)

Agent Morgan looked over to the burly Italian agent – Gina couldn't recall his name. Agent Morgan was overwhelmingly strong and sturdy. He just held a confident air and he seemed like the boss. That frightened Gina quite a bit. Still, despite how boss-like he seemed, his words came out sounding almost unsure. "Gina, do you mean the stuffed dog that they found with Sheila?"

She looked down at her feet again. She didn't respond verbally, but she nodded her head. "He-he... he needs to be with me. I-I need him. Please."

"Gina, sweetheart, can you... do you think that you could give us a moment of privacy?" Maureen's request surprised the agents, but they did not argue.

Instead, Agent Jareau held out her hand and smiled at Gina. "Why don't we go for a short walk? We could walk to the cafeteria, if you want. I know it's hard, but the doctors said it's good for you to move."

Gina hesitated, looking over to Maureen for reassurance. She received it, and was thankful.

"Go on, sweetie. I promise that I will come find you. Okay?"

"'kay." Her response was short, but she took Jennifer's hand and followed as the kind woman led her away.

As soon as Gina and JJ were out of earshot, Agent Rossi spoke. "Mrs. Hawthorne, is everything all right?"

A single tear made its way down the woman's cheek. "She has no one." Her emotions were overwhelming her so much, she felt like she could faint. "She has been missing for ten years and no one looked for her. No one missed her. She is the reason that I have my daughter back. She is the reason that my granddaughters are alive. She has been a sister to Amelia for ten years. I can't ignore that. I can't ignore her."

Each one of the agents was speechless. Hotch was thinking how he could politely say what a terrible decision it would be to take another child in to her home. One who wasn't even a child at all. Gina was eighteen years old. Her own daughter now had two daughters of her own, who, in all of their years on earth, had seen a total of three people. They saw their mother, their captor and father, and the other sister. That had been the extent of their lives.

Before Hotch could speak, Morgan did. "Both those girls lived over half the time they've been on earth in that room. It makes sense that they want their stuff. It's the only thing they can call their own. Especially Gina. She didn't have any possessions before she was taken."

"How can we... get their things?" Her voice was small and unsure.

"Occasionally, victims of captivity will revisit the places they were kept as a form of closure." The words came from Agent Reid. "Otherwise, we can retrieve the items, if they would prefer that."

Maureen stopped. Without thinking, she asked, "Do they make that choice themselves? How does this work? Gina needs that dog. And, oh God," Her voice broke, "I imagine that Amelia would... and Lily and Jasmine... they all probably have things... that they want."

"Gina and Amelia are both legally adults, so they have the ability to make that decision for themselves. Jasmine and Lily are minors." The answer that Agent Hotchner gave was not helpful to Maureen, who wanted a much less literal answer.

" _If_ they choose to go back, when would they be allowed to do that? Or if they choose not to, how soon could they get... whatever it is that they might want?" The words hurt her to say. All she wanted was to run back in and hug her daughter.

"We could arrange for them to return, if they choose to, as soon as they're both discharged from the hospital. If they choose not to, we may have to fight a bit harder to get anything from the house, since it is technically considered evidence." Agent Rossi's words seemed so foreign and backwards to Maureen. The girls were victims and they would be forced to return to the house that they'd been beaten, raped, and tortured in if they wanted to keep the few measly possessions they had? That was cruel.

"How can I even ask them to go back there?" Again, Maureen's voice broke. How in the world could she tell Gina that, if she wanted her dog back, she had to go back to the house that she worked so hard to escape.

"Just ask." It was Agent Morgan who spoke, "Agent Jareau and Agent Reid seemed to connect with Gina – they could help walk her through." He wondered who would help Amelia. This was a road that the agents had never been down before. Long term captivity was something they'd been witness to, but never to this level of dependency. The girls knew nothing else.

"Where... um. Where is Mrs. Hawthorne?" Gina wrung her hands nervously. "When is she... um. When is she coming back?" She looked around, desperately searching for comfort.

"She'll be back, Gina." Jennifer was always wonderful at reassuring, even if she avoided answering the real question. "Do you want to go grab a snack? We could get you a sandwich or burger or something?"

Gina looked up at Jennifer and met her eyes. "Do you think... do you think she meant it? That I can go live with her and Amelia and her sisters?"

"I don't know, honey. You'll have to ask her when she comes back."

As if on cue, Mrs. Hawthorne walked quickly down the hall. Gina didn't hesitate to run to her. She threw her arms around the woman and buried her head in Maureen's neck. "Did you mean it? Can I really stay with Amelia?"

Maureen couldn't contain the smile that crossed her face. Gina was so innocent. "Yes, Gina. I meant every single word. Does that mean you will? You want to come with us?"

"Yes, please."

She heaved a sigh of relief and cradled Gina's head. "Before we go home, we can go get your dog back. How does that sound?"

It took a moment, but Gina realized something. She would have to go get him herself. He wouldn't magically appear in her hands. After mulling on that thought, Gina pulled away, fear and betrayal in her eyes. "I can't-I can't go back there. Please, don't make me go back!" She ran back to Jennifer and the other agents who had arrived. "Please, I've been a good girl, please don't-please-please don't let her take me back there. Please, I've been so good. I haven't been bad at all, I promise!"

Jennifer wrapped her arms around Gina, shushing her gently. "No, Gina, honey, she doesn't want..." She paused and knelt down before continuing, "Gina, can you look at me for a minute?"

The young girl struggled to calm herself, but she did look to Jennifer after a moment. "Please, I've been so good. I've been good. I've been so good."

"Gina, we don't want you to go back there forever. But your dog is still there, and he needs you to go pick him up. And I think that Amelia and Lily and Jasmine have things there, too. Do you think you might be able to go for just a few minutes to pick up your dog?"

"Will... will you be there? Please don't leave me." Again, Gina's voice became small and childlike.

Jennifer gave a gentle smile in response. "Of course. Mrs. Hawthorne and I will be there, and I bet some of the other agents will come, too. Okay?"

Gina nodded, still a bit unsure. "Okay... Okay." She paused, then looked to Mrs. Hawthorne before she looked back to Jennifer. "Can... can we please go get him now? He... I need him real bad."

Maureen took in a shaky breath. What had she gotten herself in to? She just offered to take a stranger in to her home. She offered to go back to the house of horrors where her only child was held for fifteen years. She started to shake, overwhelmed by her senses.

Agent Rossi noticed, gingerly putting his hand on her arm and helping her into a nearby chair. "Do you need some water?" He asked, voice loud enough only for her to hear.

"I need my husband." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Gina saw Mrs. Hawthorne's hands shaking. She knew something was wrong. She slipped out of Jennifer's arms and over to the woman who had been so kind to her. She sat down next to her and put a hand on Mrs. Hawthorne's knee. "Can we... can we go see... Amelia? Before we go get my dog?"

Maureen looked at the owner of the kind hand that touched her. She steeled herself and gave a smile. "Yes, sweetheart. Let's go see Amelia."


	3. Chapter 3

My chapters are short as hell. And that is sad. But oh well. I try. :P

Please let me know what you think! I need more ideas as to where to go. :D

Amelia held Lily on her lap. The little girl had just woken up and she looked around nervously. "Violet, where's Jasmine?" She looked up at her sister, her eyes full of worry.

"She's in the bathroom, Lil." She gave Lily a soft kiss and smiled at her. "

"Lily," George said in a stern voice, "Her name is Amelia. You know that."

"'m sorry." She whispered, then looked up to her sister. "Don't let him hit me, please."

At sister's words, Amelia prickled. She moved Lily to her right side, using her body to protect the little girl. When Jasmine came out of the bathroom, Amelia snapped her fingers and pointed to the empty spot on the right of the bed. She didn't think – she just did.

George could see how his daughter was protecting his granddaughters and it infuriated him. "You know I wouldn't hit you, Amelia. And I wouldn't hit those girls. I never once laid a hand on you."

The door creaked open and Gina entered quietly. "Can... can I sit with you?"

Amelia nodded, patting the space in front of Jasmine. Still, she didn't take her eyes off of George.

Gina seemed oblivious to the situation as she sat down, taking Amelia's hand. "Your... your mom said that I can come live with you. Once we get out of here."

Amelia's face brightened immediately. "Really?" She threw her arms around Gina, not even bothering to wait for a response.

George stood up, lips curled into a sneer. He left the room, slamming the door. He saw his wife standing there and she looked just as angry. Though her reasons were quite different from his.

"How the hell could you tell that girl we'd take her in? Without even consulting me!"

Without thinking, Maureen raised her hand and slapped her husband's face. "How can you think, for even one second ,of doing anything else? 'That girl' is the only reason we have our daughter back! She has no one, George!" She shouted.

Gina looked out the small window, tugged on Amelia's arm. "What... what are they doing? Is everything okay?"

Amelia was just as upset. She shielded the little girls behind her, but it was too late. They were both under the bed already. She realized this was a wise idea and she tugged on Gina's hand, pulling them both to the ground to meet Lily and Jasmine. Amelia wrapped her arms around the little girls and Gina held her knees to her chest.

They weren't sure how long they stayed there before the door opened. The voice they heard was Jennifer's. "Girls? Where are you?" The question didn't receive a response.

Jennifer peeked her head around, giving the girls a gentle smile. It was a horrible sight – the four girls were huddled together in a corner, jammed between the bed and the wall. She knew why, of course. She knew that they were scared by the yelling and the sounds they heard. "I know it's scary." She said, crouching down to their eye level. "I don't like it when people yell, either. But you have to try and understand how hard this is for George and Maureen. Amelia, honey, you have been gone for a very long time. Your mom and dad have to get used to having you back. They're very happy to have all of you here, safe... but it's scary for them. It's scary because they don't know what to expect. Like you guys. You guys are probably pretty scared because you don't know what is happening. And that's okay. I'm not saying that it's okay that they're yelling, but they are probably very overwhelmed. Just like you are."

"They... they never hit each other before." Amelia's voice shook as she spoke. She stroked Lily's and Jasmine's hair. For a moment, she looked over to Gina. She didn't have any words of encouragement to offer. For years and years, Amelia always took care of Gina. She always cleaned up the messes that Daddy left. She would tend to Gina's wounds after he was done playing with her. She would sing Gina to sleep in those first few months after she arrived. She was so scared, and Amelia tried her best to make Gina feel as safe as she could. She didn't like not knowing how to make Gina feel better, now.

Jennifer looked at all four girls, wondering what she could say to make them feel better. "Can I have Spencer come in and sit with you guys? I need to go talk to Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne for a few minutes, but I know you guys would feel better with someone else here. Is that okay?" She gave a reassuring smile, "He's really, really good at magic. I bet he'd love to show you guys a trick."

Gina smiled, but still looked to Amelia to make sure that it was okay.

"Lily and Jasmine have never seen a magic trick." She said softly. "I... I loved magic. I think you guys will like it, too." She smiled at her sisters, then at Gina.

Slowly, Jennifer stood up. "Okay. He'll be right in. I'll tell him to do his best trick, okay?" She gave a gentle smile before leaving the room. She shut the door as quickly as she could, not wanting the noise to get any louder for the girls. Once the door was shut completely, she spoke, "Spence, the girls want to see a magic trick."

Spencer's eyes lit up. He looked around with urgency. "I need a pencil, some paper, a paperclip, and a hair tie, and a penny."

Jennifer resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she took the hair tie from her hair. "Here." She smiled, handing it to him. "I don't have any of the rest of it, though, so you're on your own."

He looked around at the other agents before looking at Mrs. Hawthorne. She smiled obligingly and pulled a cluster of items from her purse. She sifted through them, finally finding all of the remaining objects and handing them to Agent Reid.

With a great smile, Agent Reid took the objects and bounded in to the girls' room.

Jennifer looked at George and Maureen and spoke calmly, "Look at your daughter." She pointed to the window.

Maureen did so first, then George stepped behind her and looked at well. Their hearts broke at what they saw. All four girls were still crouched on the ground, but they were smiling now. Each face in that room had a childlike wonder, and that was both saddening and wonderful to George and Maureen.

Silently, Maureen put her hand on George's back. "Tell me, honestly, that you think I made the wrong decision. Look at those girls, and tell me that's what you think."


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is pathetically short, but then, so are all of my chapters.

Please review. I like the ending of this chapter and I would love to know how it's received by others.

George gave a loud sigh. He was so thankful to have his little girl back. But now, with her, she had brought three other little girls. He had no idea what to do. He turned to look at his wife and cupped his hand to her cheek. "I'm sorry, darling." He met her eyes with equal sorrow.

She gave a gentle smile, understanding why her husband had reacted so poorly. Each had a different way of handling stress. "Georgie, go to the desk and ask when they plan to release our girls." Maureen kissed her husband's lips and opened the door quietly.

"JJ, can you call up the local PD and arrange for the girls to go get their things?" Agent Hotchner asked, just loud enough for the blonde woman to hear.

She nodded, pulling out her cell phone and heading toward the door.

For a moment, George stood, frozen. He found his feet weighing a thousand pounds. No matter how much he willed it, he was unable to move.

Agent Rossi stepped up to him. "You can't get back what he took." He placed a heavy hand on George's shoulder. "But you can make the best of what you have now. You've got five people depending on you, now. They all need you to be strong. It will be a big adjustment, there's no question. But you have to be strong for them. Don't wear yourself thin by stressing over things you have no control over."

The words seemed to help George. He nodded his appreciation before heading over to the nurses' desk in a quick pace.

"Can I help you, sir?" The voice belonged to a large framed nurse, whose name tag read 'Madeline'.

"Can you tell me when Amelia Hawthorne is due to be released? And... um. Gina Bryant?" He paused for a moment, realizing that he had no clue what name Lily and Jasmine had been registered under. They weren't on any records. They had never had a check up or seen a dentist. They had never received social security numbers or gotten passports. In the eyes of the government, they did not exist. "And Lily and Jasmine." His voice was hushed. He was unusually embarrassed, though he could not pinpoint why.

Madeline smiled at the nervous man. Of course, every nurse on the floor knew who these people were. They had seen the FBI agents in and out for nearly three days. She looked up the charts and stated that all were due to be discharged today.

"Thank you." He responded quietly before turning to head back.

When he entered the room, he found his wife sitting on the floor with the four girls, all watching Agent Reid perform a magic trick.

"Can I interrupt the show for a minute?" He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to startle anybody.

Amelia stiffened and responsively, so did the other three girls. Maureen put her hand on Amelia's shoulder, making a gentle shushing sound. "It's okay, sweetie."

"I just spoke with the nurse and she said you can all come home today." He lowered himself in to the chair nearest the door.

"Mrs. Hawthorne," Gina said in the smallest voice, "Can we still go get my dog? Please?"

Maureen smiled and soothed Gina's hair. It was still horribly matted and dirty. She knew that Gina hadn't showered yet. Neither had Amelia, for that matter. Lily and Jasmine had a bath together, but Amelia and Gina were both too afraid. "Of course, sweetheart." She turned to look at all of the girls. "Gina needs to go back... to Tom's house. She has to get her dog. Now, you three do not have to if you don't want, but I will offer. You all need to make the decision for yourselves, okay? You have the option, if you want, to go and get your things from Tom's house. It's entirely up to you, okay?"

Amelia perked up instantly, reverting to her extremely childlike state. "Can we go now? Is Daddy gonna go with us?"

"Violet," Gina turned to Amelia and spoke with a short tone. "Daddy is dead."


	5. Chapter 5

I'm going to stop apologizing for the short chapters because apparently all I can write is short chapters. Please review!

Be forewarned: this chapter is a smidge rough. Small smidge.

-0-0-0-

" _Vi, you know that Daddy is the only one that loves you." Daddy whispered in Violet's ear as he tucked her hair back. He kissed her neck gently before pulling back. He smiled at her as he spoke, "Violet, my beautiful flower... oh, Violet, you've been so good lately. Daddy thinks you need a reward." He leaned back on the mattress and gave a satisfied sigh._

 _Violet gave a small, innocent smile but she did not speak. She was a good girl, and good girls didn't speak out._

" _Come on, Vi." Daddy held out his hand as he stood, waiting for his good little girl to accept. "We are going to the park. We're going to play outside and swing on the swings and I'll buy you an ice cream and everybody will see just how beautiful my little Violet is."_

 _Violet's face lit up. She took his hand and slowly rose from the dirty mattress. She winced ever slightly, but she tried to quell her reaction to the pain. She wanted to get her reward. "Can we go there now, Daddy?" Her voice was small but dripping with eagerness._

" _Yes, we can, Vi. Come upstairs with Daddy. We'll get your nice clothes and we'll go to the park."_

 _Again, Violet's face lit up. She had only gotten to go to Upstairs twice before. Upstairs was really nice. There was a pretty room with lots and lots of comfy blankets. She got to sleep in the pretty room twice. Both of the times that she got a sister, Daddy let her sleep in the pretty room. It was so wonderful. Daddy even brought her some tea and cookies. She felt like such a princess and it was so wonderful._

 _Gently, Daddy guided her to Upstairs. As they walked, Violet found herself looking at everything she could. There were pretty pictures on all of the walls – mostly of flowers in vases and horses. Violet loved the pictures of the horses. She wondered what it would be like to meet one in real life. Maybe, she thought, if she kept being good, Daddy would let her meet one._

 _The stairs led to a kitchen that looked so lovely and inviting. Not like Behind the Curtain. Behind the Curtain was not as inviting. Violet inhaled deeply, taking in the warm scent of cookies. "Daddy," She asked quietly, "Did you bake cookies?"_

 _Daddy smiled, kissing the top of Violet's head. "Yes, I did, baby. You've just been so perfect lately. You're my perfect little Violet." He took a cookie from the cookie sheet and held it to her lips._

 _She could feel the warmth radiating off of it. She held still for a moment, wanting to take in as much of this experience she could. When she took the cookie in her mouth, it melted instantly. The chocolate was so gooey and it was perfect. "Thank you, Daddy." She mumbled as she wiped the crumbs from her mouth._

 _He took a fistful of her hair in his strong hands and growled,"Good girls don't talk with their mouths full, Violet. Do you need to be punished?" He sighed, roughly shoving her down to a chair. "Daddy doesn't want to punish you, Violet, but it looks like you may need to be reminded of your manners."_

" _No, please, Daddy, I'm sorry. I'll be so good, Daddy. Please don't punish me." She whimpered, looking down at the table. "I'm so sorry, Daddy."_

 _With a deep sigh, Daddy let go of Violet's hair, then crouched in front of her and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to let this one slide, Vi, because you've been so good lately. One little slip up... I know it won't happen again." He stood again and held his hand out. "Come on. We need to get you dressed if we're going to get your reward."_

 _Violet looked up at Daddy with shock and excitement. "We can still go? Really?" She squeaked, bouncing slightly up in her seat._

 _He smiled, stroking her hair. "Yes, baby, we can still go. Come on, let's get you dressed."_

 _A few hours later, Daddy and Violet arrived at the park. Violet did everything that Daddy promised. She swung on the swings, ran around outside, and Daddy even bought her a big ice cream. "Can we go swing again, Daddy? Please? One more time?"_

 _Daddy smiled and nodded in response. "Listen, I've got to go run an errand for just a few minutes, Vi. Can you be good and play at the swings until I get back? Why don't you go play with that little girl over there. She looks pretty lonely. I think she could use a friend."_

" _Are you going to get the groceries? Can I come with you? Please?" She knew that whenever they went to get the groceries together, she could go to The Disappearing Place._

" _No, Vi, I'm not going to get the groceries. I'm going to get you another surprise." He smiled and kissed her forehead again. "Promise me that you'll be good while I'm gone?"_

 _She nodded fervently and grinned widely. "Yes, Daddy. I'll be so good, I promise."_

 _Satisfied with Violet's response, Daddy turn to leave. Violet watched him go. He didn't get in the van, which made Violet think that his errand must be close. She watched until he was out of eyesight, then she ran over to the swings. She sat on the swing right next to the little girl that Daddy said looked lonely._

 _And she really did look lonely."What's your name?" Violet asked as she sat down on the swing. "I'm Violet."_

 _The girl responded with a smile, teasing as she responded, "You first!" She kicked her legs, but not to swing. She was just very fidgety._

" _Fine." Violet stuck her tongue out. "You win. I'm Violet. Now your turn!" She smiled and she twisted the chains of the swing so she would spin around when she let go._

 _The smaller girl responded, still kicking her legs and smiling. "I'm Gina!"_


End file.
